Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Dominique & Jenny Chisem. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Dominique & Jenny, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.

We started our business, our gym, with a structure that was handed down to us from a gym community locally in San Diego. We knew it would work. However, as our business develops we learned what works best is when we lead with authenticity. Dom has been involved in martial arts since he was 8 years old when he walked into a local gym and asked if he could train. Dom has his pulse on the fight community and has built relationships and friendships in and around San Diego. One of Doms strengths other than his passion for martial arts and the relationships he’s built, and his very high fight IQ, is his empathic approach. Dom meets everyone where they’re at in their journey and can motivate them to be their best. I, Jen, also maintain this gift of empathy and getting people to believe in themselves. We’ve both lived such varied lives, dipping into many cultures, and experiences, that combined we have the ability to understand our students, many times as a result of first hand experience as a related experience. For instance, when I began designing our women’s program at Escondido Combat Academy, I thought, what is it that I needed from a gym as a woman, and what were the barriers to me joining a gym? I began by creating a “Women’s Self Care Challenge” which is something that so many women, especially women with children, are lacking, and further may not even know where to begin. I offered a simple diet plan, work out times that were in the evening at 730 pm (maybe after making dinner and getting the kiddos ready for bed), a self defense component, goal check-ins, a supportive private Facebook group, and lots of encouragement and space for women to show up exactly as they are. The key is we really care about our members and value them for who they are. No ego, no games, just lots of love and positivity and encouragement. We aren’t in this for the money. We are in it to create the community that we enjoy being in, and who enjoys being with one another while working hard and having fun.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

how you got into your industry:
Dom has been involved with martial arts since he was a child. Jenny has been involved with martial arts since meeting Dom, six years ago.

what type of products/services/creative works you provide:
We offer a variety of martial arts classes, including nogi jiu jitsu, boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, wrestling, kids movement and martial arts classes, women’s only program (which includes self defense, yoga, strength and conditioning, and barre), coed yoga, and coed strength and conditioning.

what problems you solve for your clients:
we help our clients with fitness, self defense, learning martial arts as a hobby and competitively, self confident, body awareness, and community.

what you think sets you apart from others:
Our community consciousness sets us apart from other gyms in the area, as well as our expert instructors. All of our coaches are either pros or amateurs, and actively compete and train themselves. Our kids coaches all have many years working with kids, and use movement and games to keep classes engaging while also imparting martial arts basics for even our youngest students. Basically, we have heart, passion, and mad skills, and we love sharing this with the community of Escondido and beyond.

What are you most proud of and what are the main things you want potential clients/followers/fans to know about you:
The above! We are PROUD to be community partners, hosting women’s self seminars, and free events for nonprofits – to provide fun and challenging and important activities for vulnerable groups. We are PROUD to have an active and passionate, expert coaching staff, who are all still super down to earth and only want to facilitate our members to feel good about themselves, and help people reach whatever goal they may have. We want people to know that we are here for you, and are here to create a space for people to come together in a healthy and productive way, while having fun and learning and practicing martial arts. Coaching is the most satisfying job because we see people grow in confidence and skill and personal happiness.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

Dom and Jenny met on Hinge and had their first date October 16, 2019. Jenny was seriously OVER the dating scene, there was just one guy left before she bought a Pomeranian and stayed single for life. Jenny was not in the best mood and didn’t feel like putting her “best self” forward, just to be let down again. So, she greeted Dom in sweatpants and complained sarcastically about their choice of shows to watch. Dom giggled. He said, “I enjoy you.” And the rest was history. Jenny had found the one who she could be herself around and did not have to “impress.” And the feeling was mutual; they learned more each day how much they enjoyed one another.

Early on, while discussing their hopes and dreams. Dom mentioned that he would like to own a gym one day. Jenny had to consider this for a second… opening and running a gym would be A LOT of work. Having an established career already, and having accomplished most of her dreams, she thought about it. And she pretty much immediately decided that he was worth all of the long days and nights and sacrifices that it would take to grow a successful business, as long as he was by her side.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

There have been many stories in our short one and a half years of owning Escondido Combat Academy that demonstrate our resilience. However, one of the most challenging would have to be what happened recently in March 2025. We were told that we would have to move out of our gym space with three day’s notice. We had already been looking around at other spaces that would be better suited for our operations, mainly being a space that didn’t flood every time it rained and where we could operate like the typical martial arts studio without receiving noise complaints. We had a verbal lease with the individuals who helped us find and start our gym. However, they no longer wanted to be associated with the issues that ECA was facing. In order to not be on the hook for this, they gave us three days to be out. Mind you, we had an established and successful business by this point, a little over a year into our business with two years left on our lease. We couldn’t let our members and coaches down, and we couldn’t let our hard work go to waste. The decision to challenge them was difficult, and we knew there would be consequences. But, we stood up for what was right, and demanded our rights.

We successfully found a new and better location, we got support from our members, friends, and community. We didn’t close one single day due to moving. We are completely independent. And it was so so worth it. We are in our new space and flourishing! Classes are growing and we are very happy that we were brave and took a stand… for us and for all those who have faced challenges like this.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://escondidocombatacademy.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/escondido_combat_academy/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61555695093748&mibextid=wwXIfr
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@escondido_combat_academy